Resolution in Response to CSU San Bernardino No-ConfidenceVote

Resolved: That the Sonoma State University (SSU) Academic Senate endorse the CSU Stanislaus Sense of the Senate Resolution 12/AS/17 “Support for the San Bernardino Academic Senate;” and be it further

Resolved: That following Academic Senate CSU (ASCSU) Chair Miller’s letter referenced in the Stanislaus resolution, the SSU Academic Senate express particular concern about the violation of confidentiality of the presidential search process by former Chair of the Board of Trustees Lou Monville in an op-ed written about the San Bernardino vote of no confidence, and the uncollegial tone Mr. Monville and his co- author use when discussing academic senates in the piece; and be it further

Resolved: That the SSU Academic Senate express concern about Chancellor White’s May 10, 2017 “Open Letter to Faculty, Staff and Students, California State San Bernardino,” which sidesteps the serious issues raised by the CSUSB vote of no confidence in CSUSB President Morales; and be it further

Resolved: That in the absence of a Board of Trustees policy about faculty votes of no confidence, the SSU Academic Senate strongly urge Chancellor White to follow the steps recommended in AS-3075-12/Shared Governance Committee Procedures for Dealing with a Vote of No Confidence to investigate issues raised in the CSUSB vote of no confidence resolution; and be it further

Resolved: That the Academic Senate of San Bernardino continues to have the “full and unequivocal support” of the Academic Senate of SSU; and be it further

Resolved: That the SSU Academic Senate direct our Chair to forward this resolution to the Chair of the CSUSB Academic Senate with an expression of our support for our CSUSB colleagues; and be it further

Resolved: That this resolution also be distributed to the Board of Trustees, Chancellor White, campus presidents, campus senate chairs, and the Academic Senate CSU.

Rationale

On Tuesday, May 9 the CSU San Bernardino Faculty Senate passed a “Resolution of No Confidence in the President of California State University, San Bernardino.” Prior to that vote, former Chair of the CSU Board of Trustees Lou Monville and Paul Granillo, a community member, published an op-ed piece against the resolution entitled “Academic Senates Need More Transparency” (http://www.sbsun.com/opinion/20170508/academic-senates-need-more-transparency-guest-commentary). Monville and Granillo are both graduates of CSUSB and both were members of the presidential search committee that resulted in the hiring of CSUSB President Morales. The piece takes an extremely uncollegial tone when criticizing academic senates. And in it Monville and Granillo break the confidentiality of the presidential search process by referencing confidential deliberations among committee members and referring to an applicant in such a way as to make identifying by name easy. The breach of confidentiality is an egregious violation of the very principles the Chancellor and Board of Trustees have used to justify closed presidential searches. And the tone of the op-ed shows a complete lack of respect for the principles of collegial shared governance and the piece misunderstands the robust, and at times passionate debate necessary to the pursuit of knowledge in the university.

In his letter to faculty, staff and students after the resolution was passed, Chancellor White expressed his and the Board of Trustees’ “full and unequivocal support” for President Morales. The letter only very briefly acknowledges “some concerns regarding campus climate that emerged from a faculty-administered survey.” The bulk of the letter details the reasons why President Morales continues to enjoy the support of the Chancellor and Board. The letter sidesteps a central point: faculty do not conduct a vote of no confidence in a president lightly; and if successful, those votes are an indication of a serious, underlying problem in administrative leadership.

This resolution expresses the SSU Academic Senate’s support for our CSUSB colleagues faced with the difficult decision to take a vote of no confidence, our serious concern about former Chair Monville’s breach of the confidentiality of the presidential search process and Chancellor’s White’s letter to the CSUSB community, and calls for an investigation into the reasons for the CSUSB senate vote.